This week I’m Guest Blogging on Write Here, Write Now, the blog for author Sheila Boneham. Check out the stories of the two German Shepherds I’ve been blessed enough to share my life with! (And you might even see a paragraph or two about MURDER STRIKES A POSE, due out January 8!)
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!
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Hi everyone! I’m delighted to announce that today I begin blogging weekly on Killer Hobbies, a blog maintained by several talented mystery authors. I’ll be blogging about yoga, writing and, of course, the Tasha Dog. Some of the articles I post will be “best of” articles from this site. Others, like this week’s article, will be new material. I’m excited and intimidated at the same time. Check out this week’s entry. “Yoga, Puppy Dog Birthdays, Murder–and an Enthusiastic Hello,” to learn about the paths that led me to yoga and writing!
I will continue to publish Whole Life Yoga’s Blog as well. Happy reading!
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!
This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Maggie Toussaint. Maggie is a mystery/suspense author and a yoga teacher! Find out more about Maggie at www.maggietoussaint.com.
Let’s jump back in time nearly eleven years. Imagine, if you would, a 45-50 year old female, that would be me, who is having auto-immune issues. Also imagine that I have a closed mindset.
Closed, that’s right. New things are scary. If I don’t know about it, I don’t need to know about it. Aches and pains I understand. They run in my family. I’ve been to the doctor. I know what’s going on with my health.
Enter my guy who loves to try new things and always keeps me on my toes. He’s been looking into a new gym membership and instead of getting a single membership, is thinking about a family deal because of all the classes offered at this gym. And would I please come look at it with him.
Since this invite also included a stop at my favorite pizza place, I agreed. The gym was pretty much what I expected. Lots of people churning and burning calories, but the manager got my attention when she noticed how stiffly I moved and she showed me a hip-stretching yoga move in the middle of the floor. Going with the flow and trying not to hyperventilate, I tried it and was more than pleasantly surprised with the results. Not only did my hip feel better – I felt better.
Soon we had a gym membership, and I started taking yoga from a willowy, gentle soul named Erica. Her yoga was a mix of styles she’d done throughout her lifelong practice. I loved her choices of music and I loved how she worked with me, even in a large class of nearly 30 men and women, she showed me how to adjust and compensate and strengthen my body – and my spirit.
Other gals subbed or taught different yoga classes in time, but Erica really reached me. I learned to see what I could do, instead of focusing on the negative, and from that starting point, I learned to do more. A few years passed, and we moved six hundred miles away from the gym, back to my hometown, a place where yoga was viewed with outright suspicion because it was different.
I found a kindred spirit, another person with outsider ways, like me. We practiced yoga together, taking turns “leading” our small class for each other, and then others heard about it and wanted to participate. The two of us got certified to teach through AAFAA, but insurance concerns kept my friend from moving forward with a yoga studio.
The start-up YMCA invited me to teach yoga, and they would handle the insurance issues. I said yes to the Y. Much to my surprise, the class kept growing and growing. And many students came to the class who were more advanced than I was. I worked to offer something for beginner through advanced students, which was more challenging than my formerly all beginner’s class. At the same time, two family members developed what became terminal illnesses. I had to let the yoga teaching go to handle my other responsibilities.
Time passed. A niece approached me about yoga. She was recently diagnosed with a related autoimmune issue, and it was suggested that yoga would help her. Would I show her some yoga moves? Yes, of course I would. We began to meet weekly in my living room, both of us benefitting from the yoga time. Soon more family members joined us, and my lifelong best friend.
Family yoga is what we’re calling this iteration of my yoga class. It’s a way I pay it forward to help my family. Our practice consists of various breathing techniques, asanas from Erica’s blended Iyengar/Hatha/other styles of yoga, stretches I learned from various physical therapists, and meditation. Not your typical yoga class, but lots of love and laughter and fellowship.
(Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I’d tell my sisters to twist themselves this way and that, and they’d do it! But each week they come back for more.)
Lessons learned: there’s an ebb and flow to life; we adjust to life’s changes or we become out of sorts; and there is deep joy in helping others.
Namaste,
Maggie Toussaint
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!
I’m guest blogging this week on Inkspot, the blog for authors at Midnight Ink. Check it out and learn the answer to a question you might be thinking: Why does a yoga teacher write stories about murder?
http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2013/06/yoga-can-be-murder.html
Writing about yoga, dogs, and murder….What could be more fun?
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!
An author recently asked me to share my secret. How, she asked, did I find a publisher for my first novel, MURDER STRIKES A POSE, only four months after completing it? Since I’m a yoga teacher who writes yoga-related mysteries, she assumed I had used some voodoo-like yoga practice to manifest success.
I’m afraid I disappointed her.
Yoga does help my writing. Practicing asana allows me to type for hours in spite of back and shoulder injuries. Meditation clarifies my mind and unleashes my creativity. Yoga philosophy encourages me to persevere, regardless of the outcome. But nothing in yoga is magic, and my road to publication was far from quick. Getting my three-book deal involved a multi-year journey of doubt, procrastination, perseverance—and a lot of help from my friends.
I never intended to become an author. I admired the self-discipline of my writer friends, but investing years of time and energy into a project that was likely to fail seemed, well, crazy.
Enter Kate Davidson, my protagonist.
Kate is a lot like me: well-meaning and kind, but also opinionated and stubborn. She popped into my head one day, firmly took root, and insisted that I tell her story.
I tried for over three years.
The measly 900 words I typed during those frustrating thirty-six months were so bad that I finally deleted them, certain that I was a writing failure. If it weren’t for the constant encouragement of my students and friends, I certainly would have given up. I told everyone I knew about the story, secretly hoping they’d hate the idea. At least then I’d have an excuse to stop obsessing about it.
Finally, someone suggested that I attend a local writer’s conference. While there, I took seminars on writing and networked with other neophyte authors. I emerged from that experience with enthusiasm, energy, and a wealth of new knowledge. Just three weeks later, I did what I hadn’t been able to do in three years: I finished the first draft of my novel, MURDER STRIKES A POSE.
The next thirty-some-odd drafts took significantly longer. 😉
By the time I finished the manuscript just before last Thanksgiving, I had several agents interested in reading it. Four months later, I signed with my publisher, Midnight Ink.
The moral of my story?
Don’t give up on your dreams. Persevere, even when you think it’s pointless. Never underestimate the power of positive feedback. Hang out with others who share your passions.
Above all else, tell people about your story. They might just convince you to write it!
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!
I recently spent several hours digging through the mountains of paper stacked all over my house, desperately looking for some notes I’d taken while researching my next novel. I finally found them, tossed mindlessly in my yoga teacher training binder.
Disgusted with my lack of organization—it was, after all, the second time I’d lost those notes—I set aside writing for awhile, determined to tackle the disaster that was my home.
My husband came home from work, unaware of the project I’d undertaken. He looked at my clean desktop and the corresponding bags of to-be-recycled paper lining the hallway. Curious but wary, he cautiously approached as I sorted papers into ”recycle,” “re-file,” and “God only knows what this is” piles.
“Who is this woman?” he asked.
Who indeed.
Buried in the back of my file cabinet, I found an essay I wrote when applying for my first yoga teacher training. I remember writing that essay as if it were yesterday. I sat in Maui’s warm sun, scribbling furiously in my journal, trying to explain why I loved yoga and how I wanted to share it.
But as I re-read the words, I barely recognized the person who wrote that essay. Her goals seem so different than what I’ve achieved in the last twelve years.
In some ways, her aspirations seem nobler than what I’ve accomplished.
On the other hand, I’ve achieved some of her goals.
And she didn’t even mention some of my most impactful work.
Part of me laughs at the naiveté of the woman who wrote that essay; another part of me misses her. But even as I write these words, she continues evolving. Yoga has that effect on people.
Who is this woman? I still don’t know. But using the tools of yoga and writing, I’ll keep finding out. I hope you join me.
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on my hopefully soon-to-be-published yoga mystery!
I’ve been getting a lot of crap—er, feedback—from my students about the cartoon banner on my author website. I’m actually quite fond of it, but my students are right: my cartoon self’s Downward Dog is, in yoga teacher-speak, “worthy of correction.” But at least the German shepherd looks good!
Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is perhaps the most familiar of all yoga poses—and one of the most commonly misunderstood. Downward Dog strengthens your shoulders while stretching the backs of your legs, but those are only its secondary effects. In Viniyoga, Downward Dog is categorized as an extension pose, meaning that its primary intention is lengthening the spine. That amazing stretch you feel in your calves and hamstrings is just a side benefit.
The photo you see on the cover of Yoga Journal is only part of the posture. In Viniyoga, movement in and out of the pose is as important as staying. Movement contracts the muscles that will eventually be stretched, making them more like warm plastic and less like rubber bands. Western physiologists call this action proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF. (Though somehow I doubt that’s what the ancient yogis called it.)
Down-Dogging it the Viniyoga Way
Hints:
Happy down dogging, everyone!
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on my hopefully soon-to-be-published yoga mystery!
Joy rests after her long journey home
Those of you who are connected to me via Facebook may have noticed an increase in my postings there lately. To be honest, I’m hooked. I waste—or rather, invest—a couple of hours on it each day. My activities are varied: from oohing and aahing over cute puppy pictures, to sharing my adventures in trying to get published, to asking complete strangers if it’s silly to cry over Superbowl Clydesdale commercials. But one story really caught my attention.
A week ago last Saturday Tasha, a friend, and I were walking on Greenwood Avenue, when a complete stranger stopped us and handed us a flyer. “Have you seen this dog?” she asked. We told her we hadn’t. She then said, “Keep your eyes open. She even has her own Facebook page.” I put the flyer in my pocket and looked, but I didn’t find the dog. The retriever mix’s sad eyes still haunted me the next day, so I visited her Facebook page, hoping to learn she’d been recovered.
I was far from the only person who visited “Joy lost in Ballard.” Literally hundreds of people followed the discussion and offered to help. I shared the page on the studio’s and my personal pages and forwarded information on when I could.
The odds of a happy ending weren’t good.
Joy had moved to Seattle from an out-of-state shelter just three days before she disappeared. She was easily frightened, and she hadn’t fully bonded with her new forever home. Worse yet, she slipped her collar, so she had no tags, and she didn’t yet know her name. Joy was more likely to run from someone trying to help than come to them.
I continued following the story. My husband warned me that I was l annoying my Facebook friends by continuing to post updates. Yet shortly after he chided me, I caught even him checking for Joy sightings and considering joining the search. Like me, he was hooked.
I don’t know if anyone involved in Joy’s story has ever done yoga, but they are all yogis. Complete strangers volunteered to get up at 3 AM to check humane traps, kept waders and dog treats in their cars “just in case,” discussed dog capture strategies, and created Joy sighting maps.
These kind strangers were living examples of two yoga principles: sangha (community) and active compassion. The Yoga Sutras say that when yogis encounter suffering, they should respond with active compassion. In other words, yogis shouldn’t waste time feeling bad, we should help. The teachings also promise that in community, we find energy and healing we can’t find alone. That group of electronically-connected strangers demonstrated both of those concepts perfectly. They restored my faith in humanity.
Ten days after she bolted, Joy was reunited with her family. She’s healthy and happy to be back home. We may never know what transpired during her adventure, but her travels touched the hearts of all those who helped her. And the people who helped her definitely made a mark on mine.
Thanks to all of you who helped Joy and sent her positive energy. May you continue to find your own Joy in Seattle.
Namaste
Tracy
PS–I truly love getting to know students and fans on Facebook! “Friend” me at https://www.facebook.com/tracywe
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!
I have spent every spare moment for the last year and a half writing my first yoga mystery, Murder Strikes a Pose. My husband and dog can both attest to my writing obsession, as well as the sacrifices they made so I could pursue it.
I offered my novel to the universe last Tuesday. To be more specific, I e-mailed it to several prospective agents. As I hit the SEND button, I was struck by the parallels between writing and yoga. Both have been inexorable parts of my life this last year. My personal yoga practice kept me balanced and opened my mind to creativity. Teaching yoga kept me grounded in what was truly important. Writing allowed my mind and imagination to fly free.
According to sutra 1.12, yoga helps us overcome the limitations of our minds and the frailties of our conditioning, but only if we commit to it as a “persevering practice.” Persevering practice occurs:
Easy, right?
If you’re like me, your yoga practice ebbs and flows. Sometimes it’s part of your daily routine; sometimes it falls off the radar for weeks at a time. Sometimes you leap onto your mat with the joy of a child holding a bright green lollipop; other times you drag yourself there like a fifty-year-old en route to her first colonoscopy. And that whole idea of not being attached to the results? Well, good luck with that.
But as usual, the sutras offer wisdom, for both yogis and writers. Put simply, the ancient teachings are right.
Asana done once a month or even once a week gives anemic results, and the benefits of daily practice quickly dissipate when discontinued. Without dedication, yoga practice becomes nothing more than exercise, and not very effective exercise at that. On the other hand, if we hold preconceived attachments to the results of our practice, we simply give up.
Writing offers many parallels. I wrote the first two chapters of my book over three years ago, then let it sit for almost two years. Until I worked on it daily for over a year, I made no progress. And on the days I lacked dedication and enthusiasm, my words were no more than crumpled pages at the bottom of my recycle bin.
As for attachment to results, well, I have to let that go, or I’ll never make it past my first rejection, sure to come any day now. Any writer attached to success lasts about three minutes before laughing maniacally, tossing her computer out the window, and popping popcorn over the manuscript burning in her fireplace.
So why continue? I practice both yoga and writing because word by word, pose by pose, both offer unexpected gifts: flashes of self-understanding, moments of quiet calm, a connection to laughter and joy in this sometimes challenging life. These small gifts make all the rest worth it.
Like many of my students, my yoga and writing practices both wax and wane, and my larger goals often seem unattainable. I’m more likely to become a bestselling author than attain enlightenment in this lifetime, and neither is very darned likely. But the simple act of practicing serves me, nonetheless.
So if you need me, I’ll be teaching at the studio or typing at my keyboard—persevering.
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!
Last Wednesday was a very tough day in Seattle, and I spent most of the day completely oblivious to it. As many of you know, several people were killed in a local coffee shop that morning by a mentally ill gunman. There’s no discounting the tragedy for the victims, the families and friends – even the shooter himself.
But I spent the day working in a different realm: finishing the fourth draft of my novel, which is, ironically, a yoga murder mystery. I sent the manuscript to my editor just 30 minutes before arriving at the studio to teach. To say I was in a good mood would have been an understatement. I sang, danced, and “high fived” myself all the way down Greenwood Ave, ecstatic at having reached this personally huge milestone.
Then I walked into the studio.
The first person I encountered told me about the shootings and the frantic calls she’d received from family and friends. I responded with something eloquent like “Huh? Did something happen today?” Soon after, another student told me that her son’s school had spent the day in lock down. Later, another friend told me how the manhunt had almost expanded to Greenwood – all while I’d been blissfully unaware, creating my own version of mayhem in a wonderfully fictional world.
I have to admit to feeling a little separated from this, even though I myself was the victim of random violence many years ago. I suspect that’s because I heard about it so much later than everyone else. Part of me felt guilty for not being as upset as those around me – and part of me didn’t. You see, the yoga teachings never promised us an easy life. They never promised freedom from suffering. In fact, they literally say that suffering is inevitable.
What they do promise, however, is a path to peace in spite of it. They offer us a port in the storm. No matter how hard we try, we can’t control what happens in this great lottery we call life. But we can hopefully learn how to be more balanced and peaceful in spite of it.
If you’ve met me, you know that I’m far from perfect. I stress and angst and worry with the best of them. But yoga and meditation help. All we have to do is practice.
I taught the meditation below in my class that night. May it help you find your own safe harbor in the storms of life.
A Simple Meditation for Inner Peace:
Namaste
Tracy
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!